A glance at Cardiff's pregnant skies is enough to set the tone for the knockout clash between South Africa and West Indies and it is not a positive one. What should be a fascinating clash between a team that dominates outside of major tournaments and a team trying to recreate their glory days may not even happen. If it does, it is likely to be interrupted by rain.

Should the wet weather have the final say, South Africa will progress by virtue of a better net run-rate but they will not want to go into the real knockouts in such fortunate circumstances. Neither will West Indies want to exit the tournament in a drizzle of disappointment, although they have two poor batting performances to blame for their current standing in the group.

While South Africa showed improvement, particularly in the bowling department, in their second game, West Indies remained static. As a result, they have not managed a total of even 240 so far and against South Africa, it would be safe to assume, they may need many more to win.

But this is not a normal occasion for South Africa; this is a pressure game and that alone could scramble their minds. Even if Dale Steyn is fit and firing, their main battle will be with themselves as they try to rewrite their reputations as big-game bloopers.

West Indies will fancy themselves more than usual, especially because they have been the team that have put South Africa out of tournaments the most. On three occasions, they have been responsible for South Africa taking the next flight home and their cavalier confidence has often given them the edge over a team paranoid of failure.

Form guide

(Most recent first)

South Africa: WLWWL

West Indies: LWWWW

In the Spotlight

There hasn't been much opportunity for a finisher like David Miller to show what he is capable of. The "in the arc, out of the park" hitter has had mixed results in a tournament where run-scoring has tapered as innings go on, but team management remains confident Miller will be able to make an impact at some point. Given a firm foundation and licence to thrill, it may be his big day.

Sunil Narine has encountered South Africans at the IPL but has never played against South Africa and he may well be relishing the opportunity. Despite reams of video evidence, Narine remains difficult to pick - with both his offbreak and doosra bowled out of the front of the hand and made trickier by his pace. Although the stereotype about South Africa's batsmen being spun into submission doesn't apply anymore, he could still cause ample problems for a team under pressure.

Team news

With Dale Steyn declared fit and available, South Africa will likely go in with four seamers, one specialist spinner in Robin Peterson and JP Duminy as an allrounder. That will mean only one change for them with Colin Ingram occupying the top spot ahead of specialist opener Alviro Petersen and Farhaan Behardien missing out again.

Rain fell consistently throughout Wednesday and Thursday and more showers are forecast for match day with a window of clear weather predicted only between 2pm and 5pm. That could be enough to squeeze in a 20-over shootout, but both teams will want more than that. Should play take place, the moisture is likely to make conditions conducive for the pacers.

The ground has seen one run-fest between India and South Africa and one low-scoring scuffle between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, but both took place before the rains. So fairly fresh conditions can be expected for this match.

Stats and Trivia

Chris Gayle has scored three hundreds against South Africa, two of them in losing causes.

Three of the 12 ODIs played at Sophia Gardens have been washed out - 25%. South Africa have been involved in two of those.

Quotes

"They know if they lose, they are going back home. They have a tag of being chokers that do well in big tournaments, so that would be added pressure on them." West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo

"They always say batting second is easier when there is a bit of weather around. I'm not too fussed about that. Whether we play a shortened game or a normal game, it's all about focus and team intensity off the field." South African captain AB de Villiers

In the match preview, Firdose notes in "Stats & Trivia" that Gayle has 3 ODI centuries against SA. That's impressive, but not the whole story. For those wanting a bigger picture, here is a breakdown of Gayle's stats.

Does number crunching during a rain delay mean I'm just bored, or an incurable cricket nerd?

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 12:39 GMT

I don't know what is the point of these 36 overs-a-side games?! 14 overs would mean just over an hour for every team. Why can't they just play after usual time? It's not as if the players, umpires, spectators or ground staff or the ground itself has any other commitments!

Chris
on June 14, 2013, 12:27 GMT

And that's why Cricket is an unpopular sport. The game can be disrupted by rain.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 12:20 GMT

Im a West Indian fan, and very disappointed with Dwayne Bravo's logic in press conferences .Im tired of him saying that they have prepared well. They haven't .I dont know what they are doing in the nets , but it isnt working . Ottis Gibson has coached this team for a while ,with no positive results in ODI format .Our bowling has not gotten better despite all our top bowlers being fit. Sarwan is not hallf the player he used to be and i think he's finished ,same for the bravo brothers ,samuels and gayle , which leaves our cricket in disarray. Pollard has been a great disappointment in big tournaments ,no surprises there.The only man who has over exceeded is Darren Sammy with the bat at least. Dont call South Africa chokers ,because we as a nation have been the hallmark of good talent ,but less than average cricket.

Amir
on June 14, 2013, 12:18 GMT

I believe that a 36 overs game will favor WI more than SA because WI batsman are more suited for a shorter format of the game than a relatively longer version of 50 overs.

Sharky
on June 14, 2013, 11:56 GMT

Cricket's longest format Kings (South Africa) meet cricket's shortest format Kings (West Indies) in the middle, in a medium format game. I guess South Africa would rather prefer the game to be abandoned, rather than to play a shorter form of the game.

Vijay P
on June 14, 2013, 11:14 GMT

@Chhitiz Buchasia, You have to make an estimate of how many overs you are going to lose based on the forecast before the match. I am not talking about a 2hr thunderstorm of 30% chance. If you have rain spells of few hrs with 50% chance or more, some part of the match is bound to be wiped out.

Neo
on June 14, 2013, 11:10 GMT

"sundar411, Whenever you hold a tournament in England, it is better to just have the captains of all teams around and have toss ceremonies and hand over the cup to the ultimate winner of tosses."

haha......rightly said.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 10:26 GMT

A 20/20 type game for sure West Indies will go through, and if so be the case we will win the tournament.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 22:13 GMT

Ironic title, considering the outcome of the game.

David
on June 14, 2013, 13:06 GMT

In the match preview, Firdose notes in "Stats & Trivia" that Gayle has 3 ODI centuries against SA. That's impressive, but not the whole story. For those wanting a bigger picture, here is a breakdown of Gayle's stats.

Does number crunching during a rain delay mean I'm just bored, or an incurable cricket nerd?

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 12:39 GMT

I don't know what is the point of these 36 overs-a-side games?! 14 overs would mean just over an hour for every team. Why can't they just play after usual time? It's not as if the players, umpires, spectators or ground staff or the ground itself has any other commitments!

Chris
on June 14, 2013, 12:27 GMT

And that's why Cricket is an unpopular sport. The game can be disrupted by rain.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 12:20 GMT

Im a West Indian fan, and very disappointed with Dwayne Bravo's logic in press conferences .Im tired of him saying that they have prepared well. They haven't .I dont know what they are doing in the nets , but it isnt working . Ottis Gibson has coached this team for a while ,with no positive results in ODI format .Our bowling has not gotten better despite all our top bowlers being fit. Sarwan is not hallf the player he used to be and i think he's finished ,same for the bravo brothers ,samuels and gayle , which leaves our cricket in disarray. Pollard has been a great disappointment in big tournaments ,no surprises there.The only man who has over exceeded is Darren Sammy with the bat at least. Dont call South Africa chokers ,because we as a nation have been the hallmark of good talent ,but less than average cricket.

Amir
on June 14, 2013, 12:18 GMT

I believe that a 36 overs game will favor WI more than SA because WI batsman are more suited for a shorter format of the game than a relatively longer version of 50 overs.

Sharky
on June 14, 2013, 11:56 GMT

Cricket's longest format Kings (South Africa) meet cricket's shortest format Kings (West Indies) in the middle, in a medium format game. I guess South Africa would rather prefer the game to be abandoned, rather than to play a shorter form of the game.

Vijay P
on June 14, 2013, 11:14 GMT

@Chhitiz Buchasia, You have to make an estimate of how many overs you are going to lose based on the forecast before the match. I am not talking about a 2hr thunderstorm of 30% chance. If you have rain spells of few hrs with 50% chance or more, some part of the match is bound to be wiped out.

Neo
on June 14, 2013, 11:10 GMT

"sundar411, Whenever you hold a tournament in England, it is better to just have the captains of all teams around and have toss ceremonies and hand over the cup to the ultimate winner of tosses."

haha......rightly said.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 10:26 GMT

A 20/20 type game for sure West Indies will go through, and if so be the case we will win the tournament.

soumyas
on June 14, 2013, 10:21 GMT

yes, South african's have failed in crunch matches. But what about Srilankans? they have reached Finals and Semifinals more than any other teams.

soumyas
on June 14, 2013, 10:18 GMT

Westindies batsmen are more suited for T20 game, they are big hitters, but they don't have classy batsmen like amla,trott,kohli,Sanga type. their only class batsman is Darren bravo who's strike rate is very slow. I think Chandrapaul should have been their at Sarwan's place. One need to play anchor role in ODIs and playout till 40th over. i don't understand when batsmen like Gayle can score 80's and 100's in T20 game why can't he produce the same in ODI ? One needs to tell Gayle that he has to play same style he plays T20 game.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 9:54 GMT

The pure enthusiast would love to see his game without interruptions. I'm sure, ICC should've been able to find other countries at this time of the year which are rain free to hold the tournament, if this was the only window available to hold the tournament.

sundar
on June 14, 2013, 9:47 GMT

Whenever you hold a tournament in England, it is better to just have the captains of all teams around and have toss ceremonies and hand over the cup to the ultimate winner of tosses. No game gets going without being interrupted at crucial stages by rains. Real sad.

Kannan
on June 14, 2013, 9:34 GMT

England is no place to hold an important cricketing tournament. There's no fun for the cricket enthusiast in the tournament if any of the matches are washed away or if Duckworth-Lewis comes into play.

The pure enthusiast would love to see his game without interruptions. I'm sure, ICC should've been able to find other countries at this time of the year which are rain free to hold the tournament, if this was the only window available to hold the tournament.

Ragh
on June 14, 2013, 9:28 GMT

If its either a washout or no rain (Atleast 35 Ovrs Max per side) then advantage SA. If its anywhere between 20 ovrs to 30 ovrs a side it will be Windies all the way...

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 9:09 GMT

SA are certainly the favorites for this one. They have a decent batting line-up and with Steyn back, their bowling attack looks strong again. The Windies have quality ODI players but their ODI form is poor (Especially the batting), to be honest. Gayle or Samuels needs to do something special if they want to win today, I believe. I hope we have a game; was really disappointed when the Aus-NZ game was cancelled.

V.L
on June 14, 2013, 8:41 GMT

Bravo should worry about his own team, particularly some baffling selections like leaving out Chanderpaul in favor of Sarwan. With Steyn available, SA should steamroll WI hands down. However if Gayle gets going, it will be curtains for SA.

Logan
on June 14, 2013, 8:21 GMT

I am not sure why WI are being written off for this game.Weather permitting ,I believe that west indies have enough of firepower batsmen to trouble the SA bowlers dale steyn included.DS only becomes threatning after having some games under this belt,and unfortunately he was not fit to play the real matches.Chris Gale,Charles,Marlon Samuels ,Kiron Pollard,Darren Samy,Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith(if picked) are all power hitters and if they get it right,SA will struggle.On the other hand SA have also got firepower batsmen and bat very deep,my only concern is their bowling and so also west indies.They are proably evenly matched.A bonus for SA is their fielding.Good luck to both the teams

geoff
on June 14, 2013, 7:39 GMT

I'm not sure this article truly represents the SA sides thinking. You may be right that SA is scared of failure, but in that case it doesn't make sense saying that they won't want to reach the semis in fortunate circumstances. West Indies are their nemesis in tournaments and I'd say they'd happily take a rained off game and enter the semis unscathed. As long as they can eventually win a final fair and square they won't mind how they arrive there.

avid
on June 14, 2013, 7:34 GMT

Would be great if you guys could put up a separate tab on the main page with the Permutations for qualifying for semis for the individual teams :)

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 7:02 GMT

If WI was so great why did they fail so miserably? They are inconsistent in batting. SA are the only team that had a real opportunity against India and only silly run outs cost them the game. SA are a better team than WI and would be a better bet in the semi's.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 6:52 GMT

@Inspector_Clouseau: But how are you going to decide how many overs each team should play? You are saying 30 now since the total overs possible were 65. But with rain you can never be sure...

Ali Asghar
on June 14, 2013, 6:38 GMT

@johnathonjosephs are you sure South Africa has the best bowling in the tournament? i was also thinking like that before India's game, and don't forget you never ever count the bowling superiority if they does well against Pakistani batting, it'll be called as superior if SA bowlers demolish batting units like India/England/SL etc, we have to admire Pakistan's bowling unit is the most destructive right now in the tournament, no one managed to cross 250 mark against them, thanks to there batting, other teams will be relived now with there exit, i am waiting anxiously for SA's game against India again with Steyn and Morris included, which is possible in final only if India and SA both win in semis.

Ali Asghar
on June 14, 2013, 6:27 GMT

I don't think there was any improvment in South Africa's bowling in their 2nd game, it was just an awful batting display by Pakistan, i bet if the same score was being set against SL/England/India/New Zealand, they would have chased it easily in that Subcontinent type of track, but Steyn and Morris are brilliant, It's not that every batsmans from teams other than Pakistan will throw there wicket away like Hafeez, Farhat, Malik and Kamran did, and they'll keep on blocking like they did, SA needs to bowl really well, completely surprised with Pakistan's approach, you can also see all the batsmans that lost there wickets were getting out in non wicket taking deliveries, Even after inclusion of Steyn, there other bowlers are far away from being called as world's destructive bowlers, i will see how india hammers Steyn and co again to choke SA again in knock out round.

sandip
on June 14, 2013, 4:57 GMT

Proteas all the way!!!! WI not match to Proteas!!!!!!!!!!

Best balanced side in the tournament should go ahead. WI is not a bad team but it was placed in a group of death. Sad but its true. I say WI is far ahead that all Group A teams and should proceed further but that's the format. All Group A matches found competition of who would play bad than the other. Favorite ENG looked clueless against Lankans and N. Kulasekara took batting class of them......Funny!!!

Manesh
on June 14, 2013, 4:55 GMT

It is 80-20 in favour of SA. Steyn will be a boost for SA . WI batsmen including Gyle are not consistent. Their bowlers are not any big threat. So even if they score around 300, SA can chase it down.

Pardeep
on June 14, 2013, 4:46 GMT

SA need to win this match and semifinal at least, otherwise chokers tag will become more applicable on them ...In fact they deserve to win this match , As they are a much better bowling and batting unit as compared to WI . I wish them to win this match.

Sharath
on June 14, 2013, 4:05 GMT

I think WI should get in Dwayne Smith for Sarwan. In all likely hood its going to be a shortened match and hence Smith is going to give greater value with his current form and the fact that he can bowl a few overs of seam up. They can afford to drop a specialist batsman since Sammy at No.8 is in good form.

Dummy4
on June 14, 2013, 3:36 GMT

It should be a shame if rain washes out this game. South Africa is the most probable to go out if a match happens. They are keen enough to keep their CHOKERS tag intact.

Black
on June 14, 2013, 3:20 GMT

my prediction. gayle will make a 100 today. and south africa is eliminated.

Lakshmi Narasimhan
on June 14, 2013, 3:11 GMT

@Raj Patel,

India should win against Pak to ensure they finish top.
If India loses then SA/WI should win with lesser margins say 25 to 30 runs.

Looks like India will anyway finish top. We need to worry about S/F only now.

Who comes at top of group does not matter in CT because teams in Group A (SL and Eng) all have great bowl and bat unit. NZ on any given day will save 30 runs on field and Taylor/Guptill could prove dangerous to any bowling unit. Aus for me ruled out of CT....;)

Amila
on June 14, 2013, 2:44 GMT

Windies deserve to be knocked out by Rain. Their selection was pathetic to begin with. The GREAT RAMNARESH SARWAN who went to courts against the WICB and got money probably has a brain jam. He is only in the team because of a 100 against a school boy like Zimbabwe team. Devon Smith even with his bad track record would have been a better choice both with the bat and in the field. They could have easily scored 300 against India but kept on missing straight deliveries from a part time spinner to crawl towards 233. Even then they had a chance. But atrocious bowling and fielding so them lose so convincingly their NRR is beyond repair. All this lack of improvement shown is due to a captain who chose IPL over Windies and a board who sacrificed two good test series against SL and PAK to play the second domestic T20 tournament for the year (Remember, they already played one Carribean T20 early this year which was won by T&T). Lack of visions and lack of brains will keep this team down for ever.

Vijay P
on June 14, 2013, 2:23 GMT

Administrators need to be proactive rather than reactive when rain is forecasted with such a high probability. Shorten the game early instead of waiting until the showers arrive. Otherwise it would be like the Aus vs Nz game where one team got 50 overs and the other played only 15. If they had shortened it to 30 overs each in the beginning itself there would have been a result.

Dummy4
on June 13, 2013, 23:15 GMT

This business of the weather being the deciding factor in cricket on so many occasions is enough for me to give up following the sport. It's utterly ridiculous that matches are never rescheduled or extended. There's no other sport where it would be considered a draw because it rained. Can somebody tell me why games could not be continued the following day? Imagine having the FA Cup shared by two teams because it rained on finals day. Or Federer and Murray sharing a Wimbleden trophy because it rained on finals day. Or how about the Yankees and the Dodgers sharing a World Series because it rained? This is the kind of thing that makes cricket a laughing stock. Schedule a championship event with a handfull of matches again one another in a rainy country and then cancel the matches when it rains and advance the teams anyway. Why do countries like Ireland and the Netherlands even want to play this game, anyway?

timothy
on June 13, 2013, 22:17 GMT

I will wait to see if people like Gayle and Sarwan perform when it really matters - but I am not going to hold my breath!

Dummy4
on June 13, 2013, 21:56 GMT

The scheduling is ridiculous. Any tournament being played in England needs to have a reserve day after a match, so it gives you a chance to play again in case the first day is washed out. I remember that being the case in the 1999 world cup. It seems likely that the Monday game between SL and Aus will be washed out (with 70% chance of rain in London) -- but for Tuesday the weather forecast looks great. Why not change that game to Tuesday? Sometimes, cricket seems stuck in the middle ages. Some common sense, please!!

venu
on June 13, 2013, 21:03 GMT

@Renier Potgieter & ntalgeri: I don't think I'm jealous of SA(I'll be in ROW category). I think it is the expectation that also brings in a lot of criticism. I'vent heard of any series or tournament in the past 15years in which SA is not a favorite. For example, people may excuse a Jadeja failure but not Rohit becoz he doesn't justify his talent. or maybe like Nadal/Fedex, 1 slam in a year looks like they haven't performed well. SA is also in similar situation. They are always talented and favorites but they hardly win these knock-out tournaments. When it comes to bilateral series, they are a different beast. By the way, every team has a tag, it is not just SA(exception for Aus)

Johnathon
on June 13, 2013, 20:10 GMT

Not sure if Lloydster is trolling or if he's serious. India have the best bowlers of the tournament and England the best batsman? Lol. India have got the best batting lineup BY FAR. They are extremely powerful in their batting lineup and I would put my money on them winning. Best bowler prize would have to go to South Africa and then to West Indies (narine, roach, rampaul, and an in form part timer Dwayne Bravo). In the other group, Australia looks the weakest and with today's result of Sri Lanka beating England, it seems to be a race for the 2 spots between Lanka, NZ, and England. Because of the rain result, Sri Lanka is the key team in that group. If Sri Lanka wins against Australia, it will be them and the winner of the NZ/Eng match. If Sri lanka loses against Australia, Australia need to hope that NZ beats the English.

Mark
on June 13, 2013, 17:50 GMT

@GlobalCricketLover: Incredibly unfair, most games which have been washed out at Cardiff would have been washed out anywhere in the country on the day, they've been very unlucky. I can also count many, many times when a game has been washed out somewhere else and Cardiff has had glorious sunshine. The weather in Cardiff isn't that rainy tbh, it is drier than the south-west on the whole.

@Lloydster: England best batting lineup, India better bowlers. Uuh, you got them the wrong way round mate? Or just not been watching? :D

Dummy4
on June 13, 2013, 17:31 GMT

considering that we are playing a MAJOR tournament in England, with their weather conditions very well known to everyone, it seems rather obvious that Rain Days would be considered in scheduling. Big mistake by the ICC rather disappointing there that the faith of teams are being left to weather.

g
on June 13, 2013, 16:45 GMT

They should ban Cardiff altogether..countless matches washed out in the last couple of years...may be someone good with statsguru should findout the actual % of washed out matches...i am sure it will be more than 40%. I know it sounds discouraging for Cardiff locals, but there is no fun matches getting washed out this frequently at the venue. Certainly shouldn't host any multi-national tournments when a no-result can change the fortunes of a team.

Dummy4
on June 13, 2013, 16:14 GMT

South Africa has the upper advantage over West Indies right now because they have a pretty strong batting unit which has faced the West Indian bowlers in the IPL. West Indian batsmen have faced very few of the South African bowlers in the IPL so they will know less.

With Dale Steyn back into the South African bowling camp, West Indies will have to bat really well to get a defendable total on board. South Africa already showed how good their bowling even without Dale Steyn is good against the Pakistanis.

West Indies' batting is strong but are not performing, so assumptions may be that South Africa is stronger on paper, but you never know about SF. They can implode in this match's pressure, so it will be a great match to watch.

Just hope this match is not washed out!!!! What a waste of time =(

Lloyd
on June 13, 2013, 16:03 GMT

Yip it may well be rained out again- why not have closed roofs in England. Not that this should upset the Finals between England and India. Tomorrows result should be academic only. England have by far the strongest battling line up and India the better bowlers. All the sides (including my Proteas) have struggled to gain any intensity . Too much IPL / exhausted players dont care as the financial rewards here are minimal in comparison.Move the Competition to where it doesnt rain

Nikhil
on June 13, 2013, 15:55 GMT

Fair point Renier Potgieter. Other teams have lost finals too, but no one has found the tag of "favourites" as burdensome as the Saffers. I take it that there is a sense of jealousy in the rest of the world too and they delight at the prospect of SA failing in crunch games. That said - I think the jingoistic SA media is to blame for it. They hail the SA team as God's gift to world cricket when they win, some of the praise showered upon them is nauseating. So, maybe this is the ROW's way of getting even :-)

Dummy4
on June 13, 2013, 15:50 GMT

Does any one know what South Africa or West Indies have to do and then Pakistan with regards the run rate for India not to finish at the top of the group?

Summer
on June 13, 2013, 14:34 GMT

Who knows what will happen 2mrw, I have a feeling though, that WI batsmen will show why bowlers fear them the most. Expecting a run feast from them despite Steyn's presence !

rock
on June 13, 2013, 14:30 GMT

@ AltafPatel

No he meant Jan - dec .... all the year its bad weather here...

Altaf
on June 13, 2013, 14:09 GMT

@Ameshisuto I suppose you meant {*December-January} ! :)

Altaf
on June 13, 2013, 14:08 GMT

option should be available for reserve day in case entire match stands wash-out.

Dummy4
on June 13, 2013, 14:04 GMT

What is it with people and blaming South Africa for crumbling in high pressure situations? It is so incredible to believe that anything can happen in cricket and that only one team can win a tournament? Yes, there were a few isolated matched that went south really badly, like the infamous Donald/Klusener run-out, but SA is not the only team that has collapsed or been beaten on the last ball of the match.

Jay
on June 13, 2013, 13:50 GMT

For once, rain will help SA :D

D
on June 13, 2013, 13:15 GMT

Well, if the ICC will insist on scheduling major international tournaments in the UK in the wet season*...

{*January-December)

Dummy4
on June 13, 2013, 16:14 GMT

South Africa has the upper advantage over West Indies right now because they have a pretty strong batting unit which has faced the West Indian bowlers in the IPL. West Indian batsmen have faced very few of the South African bowlers in the IPL so they will know less.

With Dale Steyn back into the South African bowling camp, West Indies will have to bat really well to get a defendable total on board. South Africa already showed how good their bowling even without Dale Steyn is good against the Pakistanis.

West Indies' batting is strong but are not performing, so assumptions may be that South Africa is stronger on paper, but you never know about SF. They can implode in this match's pressure, so it will be a great match to watch.

Just hope this match is not washed out!!!! What a waste of time =(

D
on June 13, 2013, 13:15 GMT

Well, if the ICC will insist on scheduling major international tournaments in the UK in the wet season*...

{*January-December)

Jay
on June 13, 2013, 13:50 GMT

For once, rain will help SA :D

Dummy4
on June 13, 2013, 14:04 GMT

What is it with people and blaming South Africa for crumbling in high pressure situations? It is so incredible to believe that anything can happen in cricket and that only one team can win a tournament? Yes, there were a few isolated matched that went south really badly, like the infamous Donald/Klusener run-out, but SA is not the only team that has collapsed or been beaten on the last ball of the match.

Altaf
on June 13, 2013, 14:08 GMT

option should be available for reserve day in case entire match stands wash-out.

Altaf
on June 13, 2013, 14:09 GMT

@Ameshisuto I suppose you meant {*December-January} ! :)

rock
on June 13, 2013, 14:30 GMT

@ AltafPatel

No he meant Jan - dec .... all the year its bad weather here...

Summer
on June 13, 2013, 14:34 GMT

Who knows what will happen 2mrw, I have a feeling though, that WI batsmen will show why bowlers fear them the most. Expecting a run feast from them despite Steyn's presence !

Dummy4
on June 13, 2013, 15:50 GMT

Does any one know what South Africa or West Indies have to do and then Pakistan with regards the run rate for India not to finish at the top of the group?

Nikhil
on June 13, 2013, 15:55 GMT

Fair point Renier Potgieter. Other teams have lost finals too, but no one has found the tag of "favourites" as burdensome as the Saffers. I take it that there is a sense of jealousy in the rest of the world too and they delight at the prospect of SA failing in crunch games. That said - I think the jingoistic SA media is to blame for it. They hail the SA team as God's gift to world cricket when they win, some of the praise showered upon them is nauseating. So, maybe this is the ROW's way of getting even :-)

Lloyd
on June 13, 2013, 16:03 GMT

Yip it may well be rained out again- why not have closed roofs in England. Not that this should upset the Finals between England and India. Tomorrows result should be academic only. England have by far the strongest battling line up and India the better bowlers. All the sides (including my Proteas) have struggled to gain any intensity . Too much IPL / exhausted players dont care as the financial rewards here are minimal in comparison.Move the Competition to where it doesnt rain

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